


A Not So Proper Introduction : Part 2

by DjDangerLove



Series: Tarlos March Madness [18]
Category: 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-27 12:47:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30123000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DjDangerLove/pseuds/DjDangerLove
Summary: TK not so properly meets Andrea Reyes over homemade pancakes.Or: a follow up to yesterday's Tarlos March Madness post
Relationships: Carlos Reyes/TK Strand
Series: Tarlos March Madness [18]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2189232
Comments: 20
Kudos: 338





	A Not So Proper Introduction : Part 2

**Author's Note:**

> Tarlos March Madness #18 of 31

Carlos stares at the ripples expanding across the top of the milk sitting in the two glasses in front of them each one quicker than the last until it starts to slosh up the sides. He reaches a tense hand out under the table to grab at TK’s knee to hold it it still, taking a deep breath as the constant motion stops. He glances at his mother standing at the stove checking to make sure her back is still to them as she cooks before leaning towards TK.

“Relax,” he whispers and runs his hand soothingly across his thigh. “They aren’t mad.”

TK frowns at him before staring at the back of Andrea’s head worriedly, eyes drifting off to the entrance to the kitchen in search of Gabriel’s return. “How do you know?” TK asks, matching Carlos’ volume and squeezing at his forearm under the table. “They haven’t said a word since we sat down.”

“She’s making pancakes,” Carlos explains, grinning at the bewildered look TK shoots him. “If she were mad, she would be making rice and letting it burn. It’s a whole thing. Just remember, if she ever serves you burnt rice start apologizing immediately.” 

“Stress cooking. Now I know where you get it from.” TK nods, face serious. “I’ll keep the rice thing in mind, but what’s going to happen?”

Carlos sighs, smiling fondly at his mother flipping a pancake from the pan. He kisses TK’s cheek because he knows he can, but continues whispering. “I believe I’m going to get scolded for having my injured boyfriend out _gallivanting_ in the middle of the night. You’re going to get as many pancakes as you can want, probably with blueberries or bananas, and she’s going to take pity on you because of your stitches.”

“At two in the morning?”

“Just go with it,” Carlos smiles at him as his mother turns from the stove, a plate of pancakes stacked high in her hand. She places it on the table in front of TK following it up with two smaller plates of blueberries and sliced bananas. TK smacks his leg under the table at his correct assumption and Carlos coughs to cover up a laugh as his mother glares at him. 

“Um. Gracias, Mamà.” Carlos says under her stare and is relieved when she puts it on TK as he thanks her as well.

“I apologize for waking you, Mrs. Reyes” TK says, tone genuine as he takes two pancakes from the stack and places them on his own plate. He adds bananas and more syrup than his mother ever allows Carlos to put on his. He waits for her remark on the matter, but it never comes and he narrows his eyes at the unfairness. Andrea, of course, just smiles. 

“I told Carlos we should have just went to a Waffle House or something,” TK’s voice dripping with innocence brings his focus back to the conversation at hand with a sharp look at the betrayal spewing from his mouth. “But I guess he couldn’t resist his mother’s excellent cooking.”

TK takes a bite of pancakes and hums around the closed lip smile he gives Andrea across the table. Once he swallows, he says, “I can see why.”

“Oh, Carlitos,” his mother rolls her eyes with a shake of her head as Carlos fixes himself a plate. “You’ve found yourself a charmer.”

He drops blueberries on top of his short stack and then begins drizzling as much syrup as TK had, but his mother reaches across the table and yanks the bottle out of his hand. “That is too much, mijo. You know better.”

Carlos look affronted and motions towards TK’s plate, specifically at the way he drags a piece of pancake on his fork through a river of syrup and eats it. “He used half the bottle!”

“And you had him out galavanting on the ranch in the middle of the night when he should be in bed resting judging by those stitches,” she counters with a finger point to TK’s head. “He can eat whatever he likes.”

“I think I liked it better when you two didn’t know each other,” Carlos mutters, but leaves the smile on his face so they both know he isn’t serious.

His father walks into the kitchen then and relaxes back into the chair next to Andrea. “So, TK met Winnie?”

“She already likes him more than me,” Carlos nods.

“That makes two of us,” his mother teases, going so far as to reach out across the table and pat TK’s arm conspiratorially. His boyfriend grins around a cheek full of pancakes, knocking his knee into Carlos’ under the table. 

“To be fair, I like the horse better than Carlos, too.”

“Didn’t look that way to me,” Gabriel comments, face carefully blank as TK blushes a deep red and nearly chokes on his pancakes. 

Carlos clears his throat and tries to shift the conversation to somewhere less embarrassing. “I am sorry for waking you. Our sleep schedules are off, just different shifts, so we were trying to find something to do.”

He feels TK squeeze his thigh under the table, grateful for not letting them know the real reason. He feels himself relaxing into his chair a little bit more at the heat of TK’s palm as he leaves it there. 

“Well, you should be able to sleep just fine after these pancakes.” His mother says, standing from the table. “I’ll make up your bed while you finish up.”

A jolt of surprise shoots down Carlos’ spine and makes him nearly topple out of his chair. “Uh, what?” 

“Don’t argue with your mother, son,” his father chimes in as he too stands from the table with a nod at TK. “It was… interesting meeting you again, TK. Goodnight boys.”

Carlos shares a look with his father, feeling a little bit dizzy at how amused his father looks as he smiles at him before disappearing out of the kitchen. TK chases the silence that lingers when it’s just the two of them at the table by tapping his fork against his plate.

“You know,” he eventually says, “I didn’t expect your solution to my hang ups about being held hostage by homicidal bank robbers to be being held hostage by your parents but points for creativity, babe.”

Carlos’ surprised laugh is bright and loud and settles in all the right places around the kitchen as he leans in to express himself freely at this table for what feels like the first time since he was seventeen. He kisses TK once because loves him, and a second time just because he knows he can. 

—————————  
Stepping into his childhood bedroom, untouched by a sentimental mother, and seeing TK sitting on his bed stirs a nervousness in his belly he hasn’t felt since the early days of their relationship. TK’s eyes drift from the bookshelf in the corner of the room to Carlos as he closes the door and leans against it. 

“I’m sorry for all this,” Carlos sighs. “I honestly thought they wouldn’t know we were here.”

TK’s laugh is soft and feels good against his neck after he stands and crosses the room to kiss him against the door. “It’s okay. I mean I do get to see what teenage Carlos was like,” he teases while pushing away from him to inspect the desk along the wall nearest them.

Carlos groans. “Be nice. You did throw me under the bus earlier with my mom, after all.”

“Did I?” TK asks, face scrunched adorably as he feigns confusion with a hand wave towards the stitches in his head. “Sorry, must be the concussion.”

“Mmm, must be,” Carlos rolls his eyes but trails TK as he inspects things around the room. He smiles sheepishly as TK picks up a trophy Carlos received alongside the rest of his seventh grade math club when they won the state competition that year. “I’m glad we didn’t go to school together.”

“Why?” TK asks, placing the trophy back on the shelf and giving Carlos a curious glance before looking at the other academic awards on display. 

“Because I was a nerd in school as you can see. We wouldn’t have been friends.”

TK’s fingers hesitate to touch the next thing. “Why do you think that?”

“You remember the speech Nancy gave you about the jocks and science nerds?” Carlos laughs motioning between them. “Different worlds, babe.”

TK shrugs, but it’s almost sad. “Yeah, but I wasn’t a jock. I know nothing about sports.”

“I find it hard to believe you weren’t one of the cool kids, though.”

TK’s runs his hand along the material of Carlos’ third place science fair ribbon. “I was, but for the wrong reasons.” He suddenly moves away from the shelf in favor of sitting down on the bed again, voice almost sad. “You’re right. I’m glad we didn’t grow up together.”

“You’ve come along way since then,” Carlos counters while plopping down on the bed beside him, their shoulder brushing. “And if I haven’t mentioned it lately, I’m very proud of you.”

TK leans his head against his shoulder and wraps his arms around Carlos’ waist. Carlos hugs him back, dropping a kiss into his hair. 

“You want to try and get some sleep now?” Carlos murmurs, running a hand slowly up and down TK’s back. “It’s almost four in the morning.”

“Yeah,” TK agrees, wiping at his eyes while leaning away. He reaches up and rubs at his scalp around his stitches with a wince which Carlos notices as he turns down the plain navy sheets on the bed. 

“Does your head hurt? I can get some Tylenol downstairs if you think it will help you sleep,” he offers while watching TK kick off his shoes before sinking into the bed. 

“No, I’m good,” TK assures and adds, “I promise. They’re just itchy,” at Carlos’ disbelieving look from where he stands by the bed. “Lay down. If you hurry, we could probably do some teenage daydreams of yours before I fall asleep,” TK grins wickedly even though his eyes are closed. 

Carlos scoffs as he rids himself of his shoes and lays down beside TK on the full size mattress. It’s less room than they’re used to, but TK will slot himself up against Carlos in any size bed including this one. 

“We’re not doing anything with my parents down the hall,” Carlos says, wrapping his arm around TK when he scoots against him and pinching his side when the man starts kissing him up the neck. “You’re a menace. Quit it,” he laughs, going so far as to kiss TK back hard enough to make him breathless and then pull away. “Now, go to sleep.”

TK settles against him, head on Carlos’ chest and hand rubbing up and down his side. “Carlos?”

“Yeah, TK.”

“Thank you for introducing me to Winnie,” TK says, but meaning so much more.

“You can see her in the morning before we go home,” Carlos smiles up at the ceiling wishing he could tell his younger self just how happy he would eventually be. “And any time after that.”

“I know you said you didn’t want to make a living by working on the ranch” TK mumbles, voice telling of how close he is to being asleep. “But do you ever think about having a house on enough land, you know, to have horses?” 

Carlos closes his eyes, feels calm under the heat of TK’s body pressed up against his and his slow breaths running across his chest, and thinks about sitting on a back porch that wraps all the way around a two-story house. The sun sets over the horizon, fields of green pasture thriving under it’s amber glow and horses twitching their tails happily as they graze. The summer heat is warm against his skin as he sits on a swing hanging from the awning, but it’s nothing compared to the heat radiating from TK curled up against him as they look out at their shared land. If he focuses just enough he can hear the sound of kids laughing in the distance and the sound of a wedding band clicking against the glass of tea in his hand. 

“Sometimes,” he admits quietly, wondering if TK is already asleep by the time he says it.

But TK’s hand leaves his side in favor of running across his chest to settle over his heart. “Sometimes sounds nice,” TK slurs, lips lazily pressing a kiss against Carlos’ skin. “But I think about it being our forever.”

Carlos kisses the crown of TK’s head and falls into dreams that might come true.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Kudos are appreciated. Comments are food.   
> Find me on tumblr @ DjDangerLove


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